Tailigator: Cooperative System for Safety Distance Observance

A driver's inattention to or disregard for the minimum safety distance creates a hazardous situation in which avoiding a rear-end collision is nearly impossible. In a joint effort to implement safety and decision-making processes at an individual level, we present in this paper a cooperative approach to increase the driver's visual awareness of safe distances. Our Tailigator system garners information through the stereoscopic capturing and processing of images by rear cameras to calculate the distance from the leading to a following vehicle. Visual data related to the safety distance is provided to the rear vehicle in real-time, relying on an asynchronous collaborative process. Results from the system qualitative evaluation are discussed.